


There For You

by lar_laughs



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Community: writerverse, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-29
Updated: 2012-01-28
Packaged: 2017-10-30 06:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lar_laughs/pseuds/lar_laughs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This answers the question that was posed by a friend of mine - What if Katniss HAD left with Gale?  Why does she have to settle for Peeta?  Completely AU from start to finish.</p>
<p>Written for Prompt 07. Autumn Bridge in a 15 prompt challenge at Writerverse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There For You

She met him at the bridge, her bag heavy with the items she's been pushing into it over the last few weeks. There was little thought in her choices because she hadn't been able to think about her actions. Not without a wave of guilt assaulting her so that she found herself curled on the floor, keening softly. This choice, picking Gale over everyone else, was killing her. She couldn't live without him, though. That was the end result and the reason why she'd left her mother and Prim sleeping in the gloomy dawn. There were so many other reasons why she should stay, all of them weighing her down, filling her soul with so much dread that this really was the only choice. If she was going to ever be happy, she needed to follow Gale on this journey.

When she couldn't see him at the assigned place, her stomach flipped over. There were so many reasons she could think of that might have kept him away. Patrols might have dragged him away. Someone might be sick and he was needed at home. He had died in his sleep. All the possibilities swirled in her mind, making her knees shake. Above all, the worst she could think of was that Gale had decided that she wasn't worth the struggle to get away and start over fresh. She didn't blame him. Her being here was a iffy thing, as well.

"Hey."

She tensed, ready to run for cover but aware that she was already in the open and sure to be caught by anyone that was smart enough to sneak up on her. Even when she saw Gale walking toward her, she still readied herself for a run.

"I almost thought you weren't going to make it." He didn't make any sudden moves, as quiet as if he was walking toward a wounded animal in one of his traps. For a fleeting second, Katniss wondered if she was entwined in a trap of her own making. Was she really going to walk any further away from the village? Was she prepared to never see her family again?

His hand came out to lay against the side of her neck, his forehead pressed against hers in an unexpected embrace. When he didn't say anything, she finally felt her tongue loosen enough that she could whisper, "I didn't see you."

"I wanted to make sure that no one else came this way. Had to make sure that the way ahead is safe."

The word _safe_ was fraught with so much meaning, all of it completely useless because they were never safe. Not in their homes. Not in the open. Not while sleeping or while awake. With a shudder, she pressed herself against Gale in an effort to find some semblance of peace from the constant barrage of her own thoughts. She was scaring herself so that she wasn't sure her legs would even work if she tried walking right now. So often, this fear was what kept her where she was instead of where she wanted to be. Coming here without turning around was the first brave thing she'd ever done.

Gale's breath was warm against her cheek, a comforting presence in the swirling maelstrom of her thoughts. Even though he wasn't pressing her, Katniss knew they needed to be moving on. Standing here, even under the cover of trees, wasn't safe. Patrols were bound to go by soon and they needed to be further away from the village before the sun was further in the sky. She pulled away from him slightly, giving him the opportunity to be the one to pull away completely, before picking up her bag from where it had fallen.

"That boy. The one who lives in the bakery. He gave me two extra loaves of bread when I went in to buy the loaf you gave me money for. Do you think he knows? About us leaving?"

It was hard to read Gale's expressions, even after all the years of experience that Katniss had staring at him in every possible mood. When he shrugged, she tried to let some of her fear go. The boy won't tell. They've only had a few encounters but she doesn't feel some of the vague uneasiness she gets from others in the village. It's possible that he's hiding something but she would feel it. Wouldn't she?

Before she could give in to the fear and begin trekking back to the village, she took hold of Gale's hand. He looked down at their connection. Neither of them were good with physical contact but she needed the closeness. If she was going to go through with this, she needed to know that Gale was beside her, through thick and thin.

He squeezed back but didn't find her gaze. Instead, he turned back toward the road ahead of them. "We go this way until the sun is overhead. The patrols won't be this way until afternoon. There's a cave that I know about. We'll be able to take cover there until they pass by."

"You've been this far out?"

Once again, he just shrugged. There were things that she knew about Gale that told her that there was still so much she didn't know. It wouldn't surprise her to know that he knew the exact path they were going to take, all the safe places to hide, and where exactly they were going to end up. He always seemed to know things like that. Things that no one following the rules should know.

"But I don't need rules anymore," she whispered to herself. Or so she thought. This time, Gale turned and met her gaze, his smile reaching down from his eyes to tug at his lips. It was a marvelous sight, one that she didn't get to see often enough.

"Exactly." This time he squeezed her hand with a lot more force. _I know everything you worry about,_ the action told her. _I know what you need and I will do anything to make sure you get it. I know you miss your family. I miss mine, too. But it's enough to have you._


End file.
